Chapter 413 - Danger and Trouble (7)

11 May, JL International Mall, City F

The inspector looked at Matthew, and asked "Who are you?"

Matthew pulled out his identification, showing it to the inspector before saying "General Rong. My apologise, I did not know you were here for any reason…"

Shaking his head, Matthew said "A training activity with the cooperation of JL International for remote surveillance using CCTV cameras. We observed what happened. I have…"

"General stop there. While you may have had cooperation of JL International for your training but as this if private land, we will be in control."

Matthew said, "We shall see."

Pulling out his phone, he quickly dialled Phillip. Phillip answered saying "Matthew what is it. I am about to head into a meeting about the situation."

"I am about to add to your problems. The police here in City F are refusing to allow access for the military into the mall. Can you…?"

"Call and authorise it. I would have thought it would have been a given?"

"Usually, but not in this case."

"Why not tell them who you are?"

"Remember you control the trust that holds my shares, not me. I cannot do that."

"Given me a few minutes and I will call you back. But can you promise me that you will available if the board requires it."

"As much as I can. My focus needs to be on the recovery effort."

"Let me know if there is anything you need."

"Will do," came Matthew's reply as he ended the call.

Turning to the inspector Matthew firmly said, "You will have the authorisation you need, but be ready to face the consequences."

Without waiting for a response, Matthew walked to where Joseph was, and shaking his head said "Idiots. Too concerned about procedure rather than dealing with the issues. Let us get into helping the people, which is why we are here."

"Boss, already in place. We are setting up a triage procedure for the reservists who should arrive soon that are doctors and nurses. Once that is done, and we have more boots on the ground, we will start moving towards the Mall itself, looking for survivors."

"And…?" asked Matthew concerned.

"No sign of your wife presently. But I will make sure everyone knows who she is, and to notify you if they find her. Plus, the word will be spread not to salute superior officers until we know the scene is safe."

Before Matthew could respond out of the corner of his eye, he noticed soldiers arriving, carrying various items. He and Joseph moved towards them, with Joseph quickly saying "Soldiers. No saluting. This is General Rong and I am Colonel Pang. We are both from City K's base and are in charge. Presently we believe there has been a terrorism incident here and until it is proven otherwise for superior's safety ensure the word is out no saluting superior officers. That means we have joint responsibility for the situation with the police despite their position that because this is private property only, they have control. Our initial focus is on rescue and recovery. Getting civilians medical treatment, they need is the priority. General?"

"There is coming more soldiers from various basis around the country, including medics. The earliest to arrive will be from City K. If the police attempt to obstruct your activities keep calm. We do not want a fight with the police because that takes away from the more important task."

Joseph continued "Additionally, and I will make sure multiple copies of this are available, the General's wife, who owns LY, unexpectedly due to other business issues had to make the trip here and possibly was in the Mall at the time of the explosion. If anyone sees her, either the General or myself is to be immediately informed."

"Yes Sirs," came the chorus of voices.

Joseph added "Now get to work, get set up and start helping the people."

As the soldiers moved away, Joseph turned to Matthew and said "Are you alright with this?"

"Joseph, you and I both agree from the information we have the woman we through was Lexi has to be her. There are issues for us…"

"What!" spat out Joseph "You both seemed happy and secure in your relationship."

"Secrets have a way of shaking any relationship, and this was a big one. It turns out Dominic is my son. Before you say anything, we had at the time completed the steps that we could before Lexi turned eighteen for a military marriage…"

"So, the two of you consummated that relationship." Joseph paused, before adding "That would have been around the time you saved our careers and you dragged us into special forces training."

"It was, and you know the limits on contact with our families with that training."

"It nearly cost Ben and Jessica their relationship. Monica was more understanding as she had made her choice and was happy to wait."

"Cutting a long story short, Lexi was unable to tell me she was pregnant. Her parents wanted her to have an abortion but could not force her as she was seventeen. But that same age ensured that her parents, who would never have permitted her to marry me when she found out she was pregnant due to their hatred for the military, forced her into a hellish marriage with her distant cousin to protect their so-called social appearance. As a result, Dominic has been publicly known as Richard Yao's son, rather than who he is. The whole truth came out Thursday, when the results of the family and close friends screening for a bone marrow match for Dominic came out."

"And you two fought, with you acting like a wounded idiot because you had news that shook the foundations of what you knew. You idiot." Joseph slapped the back of Matthew's head before adding "You are just lucky it is me; Ben or David would be ready to tell you off more and hit you harder. Lexi is your world; we know that because you have always gone through the motions with any other woman."

"I could have you up on charges…"

Smiling Joseph interrupted saying "You will not, you need a reality check which I can deliver. But your reaction was such that neither you nor Lexi have properly spoken about the situation, hence why she hid her movements from you because she worried you would stop her."

Shaking his head, Joseph continued "Sometimes you are predictable, and in her hurt state I can understand that Lexi wanted to continue doing what she needed for her business without telling you what she was doing. She was worried that you would prevent her from travelling, because of your hurt."

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